Lewis Dot Structures

Valence Electrons & Lewis Dot Structures of Atoms

This video covers Lewis dot structures of single atoms, as well as how to calculate the number of valence electrons using the periodic table. There are two slightly different methods of writing these. I cover both, but before your first quiz you should as your teacher exactly how they want these single-atom Lewis dot structures done so you don't lose any points doing them the "other" way.

Lewis Dot Structures of Molecules

Single bonds, double bonds, triple bonds: this video covers about 80% of the Lewis dot structure problems you're likely to see. Teachers tend to make these seem super-hard, but as with most topics, once you see me lay out the step-by-step process that will work every time, you too will wonder why your teacher didn't just teach it this way in the first place!

Exceptions to the Octet Rule of Lewis Structures

Almost every atom is super-happy to have eight valence electrons, but there are exceptions that most teachers will expect you to know, and which can wreak havoc on your Lewis Dot Structres. Boron, just six? Sulfur, 12? You're crazy!

Lewis Structures Of Ions

These are really similar to Lewis structures of molecules, except the ionic charge gives you a couple extra (or fewer) dots to play with in your Lewis structure. Also, your teacher may or may not want you to draw giant brackets around your answer.

Resonance Structures

When a Lewis structure requires a double bond, you've probably wondered to yourself, "Which bond should I make double?" Good question. Lewis makes you pick one, but it turns out the truth lies somewhere in between a single and double bond, as explained in this lovely video.